3 Charts Show How Young Hispanics Have Feet in Two Worlds

A new report shows in stark numbers how young Latinos living in the U.S. have their feet in two worlds.

The Pew Hispanic Center asked over 5,000 Hispanic adults about their views on national leadership and identity in a report released on Tuesday.

The study found that Latinos between the ages of 18 and 29 feel less like a typical American than those who are older. At the same time, they feel less of a connection to their family’s country of origin than members of the older generation.

Hispanics split about evenly on whether they consider themselves “typical Americans” (49 percent) or feel different from a typical American (47 percent), the same percentage goes for Latinos between the ages of 18 and 29.

But more Hispanics ages 50 and older see themselves as typical Americans, as they have likely lived in the U.S. for longer than younger Hispanics.

While young Hispanics might be divided about whether they feel like “typical Americans,” they’re also less likely than older Hispanics to say they share a lot in common with people in their family’s country of origin.

About three in ten Latinos ages 18 to 29 say they share “a lot” in common, while 42 percent of Latinos over the age of 30 agree, according to the Pew Center.

Half of Hispanics surveyed said they have no preference between pan-ethnic terms that have traditionally been used to define the community: “Latino” or “Hispanic.”

But that percentage is even higher for Latinos between the ages of 18 and 29. In that group, 56 percent say they have no preference between the two terms, which were first used by the U.S. government about four decades ago.

Jordan Fabian is Fusion’s politics editor, writing about campaigns, Congress, immigration, and more. When he’s not working, you can find him at the ice rink or at home with his wife, Melissa.